Francis Burt

Who was Francis Burt?

Sir Francis Theodore Page Burt, AC, KCMG, QC was an Australian jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Western Australia, from 1977 to 1988, and the 29th Governor of Western Australia, from 1990 to 1993. Burt was born in Cottesloe, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, and educated at Guildford Grammar School. He studied law at the University of Western Australia, and also served in the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. Burt was made a justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia in 1969, and was promoted to Chief Justice in 1977. As Chief Justice, he served as lieutenant-governor. When the Governor of Western Australia, Gordon Reid, resigned in 1990, Burt was appointed to succeed him and served as Governor until 1993.